Jill Kelley hires high-powered DC lawyer Abbe Lowell

Jill Kelley, the "unpaid social liaison" for MacDill Air Force Base who has become embroiled in the widening scandal involving CIA director David Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell, has hired powerful DC attorney Abbe Lowell to represent her. 

Kelley reportedly alerted the FBI that she was receiving threatening e-mails several months ago, which were traced to Broadwell, Petraeus' mistress. The content of the e-mails has not been disclosed. 

Lowell, has represented high-profile political clients including Bill Clinton, John Edwards, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former Nevada governor Jim Gibbons, and former senator John Ensign, who had an affair with one of his political aides, the Washington Post reported.

Lowell said  he took on Jill Kelley's case as the result of a longstanding relationship with the Kelleys, the Am Law Daily reported.

More from GlobalPost: Jill Kelley: Who is she?

"I have known the Kelley family for 10 years and when they had a DS issue some months ago, they called me because they knew I was here," he told the Am Law Daily in an e-mail. 

Kelley has also reportedly hired Judy Smith, a PR liaison who specializes in crisis management — seriously, that's a thing. She counts Monica Lewinsky, Larry Craig, Wesley Snipes, Michael Vick, Kobe Bryant, and the family of Chandra Levy among her past clients, according to Gawker. 

"Even if Kelley simply found it prudent to keep a lawyer handy—why Lowell? It's like hiring David Boies because your friend got a speeding ticket," Gawker pointed out. "…That's a lot of very expensive firepower for someone whose role in this thing is limited to getting some nasty emails."

Kelley has not yet commented on her choice of attorney or publicist. 

More from GlobalPost: Petraeus reportedly told Paula Broadwell to stop harassing Jill Kelley